The Faces of TRANSCENDENCE

 I just got the final covers for two of the foreign editions of TRANSCENDENCE. I love seeing how each country interprets the story - so pretty!

Germany, February 2013

UK, June 2013

Everyone Needs an Editor. Even you.

I was on a panel recently and one of the questions involved the value of having an editor. I was surprised how strongly I felt about my answer at the time, so I figured I'd share my thoughts here on the blog.

Everyone needs an editor. Everyone. Whether you're being traditionally published or self-publishing, the one thing your book needs more than a kick-ass cover or a blurb from that NYT bestselling author is a ruthless editor. I'm not talking about hiring someone to correct your spelling and punctuation - I'm talking about someone who will make you question the value of every single paragraph and the position of every single word.

When I turned in the first draft of my first novel Dirty Little Secrets, I'd already gone through several rounds of revisions with my agent and I thought it was a pretty perfect book. By the time I got my first round of edits back from my editor, I was wondering why in the world they bought the book in the first place. She obviously hated it. Between the multi-page, single-spaced edit letter and the insanely marked up copy, it felt like there was nothing left of the original story. So I called my best writing friend and cried into the phone at the unfairness of it all, at the impossibility of making the changes that she wanted, about the possibility of giving back the advance and just forgetting the whole thing. I put the edit letter away for a couple of days, and when I finally got the courage up to take another peek at it, I had to admit that the suggestion at the top of the second page had some merit. After a few days, I was ready to read and really look at the whole thing and I had to grudgingly admit that almost everything she said was going to make the book better than I'd ever imagined. There was only one suggestion that I didn't take - she suggested that YA readers were going to want a 'wrap up' chapter so that they'd get a sense of what happened after the last scene. In my mind, the book ended at a certain point in my head, so I stood my ground. You know what? She was right. So right, that I wrote an 'After' chapter and put it on my website to answer all of the reader mail I got wanting to know what happened after the last page.

The next two books I wrote with my editor followed a similar pattern. By the time we got through ripping apart characters and timelines, swapping chapters and rewriting (and rewriting and rewriting) endings, they were unrecognizable from the drafts I turned in, and you know what? They were MUCH better for it. I often think her name should be on the front of my book along with mine.

I'm not against self-publishing. Many of my friends have decided to go that route for different reasons, and that's great. What I am against is an author finishing a draft, running it through some rudimentary copy edits and putting it online as a finished work. Without a second set of eyes that is invested in making your book the best in can be, it's not finished. You need to analyze every aspect of your story and be prepared to change everything in order to make it better. And you can't do that in a vacuum. And if you are doing it in a vacuum, you're doing it wrong IMHO and shortchanging your readers. Handing your story to a ruthless editor who will make you question everything has nothing to do with keeping 'control' of your work. It's about making that work the best it can be.

So to all of you out there asking if you need an editor, the short answer is yes.

Happy Birthday Griffon!

Many people know that TRANSCENDENCE was inspired by the son of a friend who died five years ago. Griffon would have been 18 today, so I want to take a minute out of this Thanksgiving Day to wish him Happy Birthday:

Griffon's family are warm and wonderful and his mom is one of the most amazing people I know - he'll never be forgotten.

Hug your family today and know that they are what you're truly thankful for.

Fur immer die Seele - German Trailer

So I stumbled on the German trailer for TRANSCENDENCE that is coming out from Dressler in February of 2013. I have no idea what they're saying, but it looks awesome and I love the cover!

Theme Songs

Most books end up with a theme song - most of the time just something that gets stuck in my head while I'm writing and won't let go. For TRANSCENDENCE, it was Break Even by the Script, for the sequel INTUITION (coming in June), it was Someone Like You by Adele (you can tell when I wrote these by the theme songs sometimes).  For the new book I'm finishing it's been Hallelujah, the John Cale version, which is funny because the song is a bit dark, but the book really isn't. I go to sleep with this song in my head and wake up with this song in my head. Here, now you can too:

Spartanburg 7 Reads!

A few months ago, I was invited to come to Spartanburg, South Carolina to talk to some students who had read my book. I've never been south of NYC on the east coast, so I said sure, not realizing what an amazing event this really is. This post is mainly for other authors who might be invited to participate in Spartanburg Reads so that you will know what to expect.

Rodney Graves is the Director of Secondary Education in Spartanburg and my contact throughout the process. What he really is, is the reading guru of South Carolina. I've never seen so much effort put into a literacy program that is run so amazingly well. The program basically gives a book to every student in the fairly large Spartanburg 7 school district to read over the summer. The elementary kids are given picture books, while the higher grades are allowed to choose the nominees and then pick the final seven books they can choose to read. I didn't realize what an honor it was to be chosen until Irene who works in the media center showed me the original nomination list - so many books I love had been nominated, it was amazing that my DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS landed in the final seven. In the end, over 400 high school students read my book, and for me, that's reason enough to show up.

When you fly in, you are picked up by one of the staff working the event. I got to ride down with Susan Myers who pointed out the sights (giant watertower in the shape of a peach -or a derriere, depending on your perspective - anyone?) and then took me to Wade's for what is billed as a meat and two veg (who knew that mac and cheese was a veg?) for an authentic NC lunch and my first fried green tomatoes ever. After some great conversation, I was driven to our B&B for a few hours rest. And what a place! The Inn on Main is a 1904 house run by Susan and Wade Sease and it is gorgeous.







I'm not a morning person, but I'd get up at 6:30 all over again for their amazing southern breakfast - grits, homemade biscuits, baked apples, bread pudding, maple-pecan bacon...I could go on. The authors took over the place and they couldn't have been nicer. (Yes, that is E.B. Lewis sitting next to me at breakfast.)

A community event featuring wonderful authors Kelly Starling-Lyons, Kathy Patrick, Johnathan Miller and Hester Bass. 

 

Me talking about something onstage at The Showroom, a converted Nash dealership.

 

Me with author Kathy Patrick and the amazing media center staff.

If you're invited to Spartanburg Reads, you'll work hard. I did two community events and four speaking engagements in front of groups of high school students and teachers in less than two days. But you'll also be treated exceptionally well. Every event was well publicized and attended both by people involved in the school district and community members. The kids at my presentations were quiet and polite and asked some really thoughtful questions. They are really glad to have you there and it shows. Just this morning, I got an email with a writing question from one of the kids at the high school.

There were a few hours of downtime every day, and I spent the second warm afternoon on the upstairs veranda of the hotel watching a thunderstorm roll in. It was the perfect ending to a seriously rewarding day. If you get asked and you don't mind a little hard work, Spartanburg, South Carolina is a great place to be.

*Thanks to Rodney Graves, Kathy Patrick and The Inn on Main for the photos!

Giveaway - IF I LIE by Cory Jackson (Signed!)

 A powerful debut novel about the gray space between truth and perception.
Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.
Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

What Kirkus said about IF I LIE by Cory Jackson:

“Sophie’s blunt, perceptive present-tense narration takes readers effectively into her personal emotional maelstrom. Relationships and their dynamics play themselves out naturally and with satisfying complexity; readers see all too clearly the damage done in the name of love.“
-from Kirkus

I got to go to Cory's launch party last night at Books Inc. in San Francisco and it was so great to see her so excited about her debut novel! There was a candy bar and red velvet cake pops (which were awesome) and a wonderful crowd there to celebrate with her.

IF I LIE is receiving rave reviews even though it only debuted yesterday. I got a copy for me and a signed copy for YOU! This giveaway is international - so spread the word!



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